Age: 34

Current residence: Moscow

Occupation: Surgeon--trained at the Guardian. Atharim—her parents were Atharim.

Psychological description: Though highly active and engaging in the medical field, she reserves her private thoughts and keeps her intentions quiet, although there have been hints. Although Nina is not mean she is not very nice sometimes, but the odd thing is it usually works out for the other person’s own good. She’s developed a complex about protecting her little sister.

Physical description: Nina’s hands are quick and steady, her fingertips callous’d from surgeries and paperwork. She has a lithe, toned, athletic build. The young surgeon also has colorful tattoos all over her body, her arms, legs, even a tattoo in the small of her back. None on her heart-shaped face, so far.

Hair: black
Eyes: bright green
Height: 5′7″ (weight: 128 lbs)
Voice: musical; Nina sings well.

Born in Italy to a family of roaming Romani merchants, Nina was raised all over Europe, back when it had been a vibrant economic center. Her parents were not only Romani, but also secretly atharim and taught Nina and, later on, her little sister Rena much of their beliefs. Nina kept her parents’ stories quiet as people did not trust Romani outsiders, and any atharim knowledge was sacred. While she liked her parents' mythical stories and warnings about channelers, she never truly believed in either, having no encounters with anything atharim beyond her parents' teachings.

Having to travel constantly while going to school was tough, as Nina was forced to make a new set of friends everywhere her parents traded. Nina felt truly happy when she turned 18. That was when her parents finally opened up shop in the Zamoskvorechye district, despite it being the slums as for the first time they've settled down. Befriending one of her sister Rena's classmate by the name of Bas Volodin, they quickly became close friends. Bas opened her eyes to appreciate tattoos when he inked her first tattoo. She also joined the gang the gopniks Bas was a member of, and for a number of years, Nina and Bas were inseparable. As she ran with the gopniks, she began to level up her medical know-how and patched up those who got injured as they did not want to go to the hospitals and attract the wrong attention. Nina was good at that sort of task and so, when the time came, she signed up for higher learning at the Guardian.

Constantly tested by the doctors that trained her as well as dealing with the punishing schedule of the Guardian wore on her, but Nina persevered strongly so she could make her family proud. So proud were her parents in fact they decided to go to the nearby area for trade and visit her while she was there. Her parents were killed in a car accident a mile from the hospital in her 2nd year.

When Nina received the news, she sent for her little sister immediately and made all the arrangements for the funeral. It was a difficult time as she recovered, with only her friendship with Bas there to keep her strong not only through her grief, but also from the burden of raising Rena on her own. By the time Bas and Nina broke up due to different priorities and ambitions, she was much more disciplined when it came to controlling herself and acting like an adult.

Her parents’ passing created wounds of the mind that would always stay with her… this was to be further compounded by her little sister Rena channeling. Upon returning home from a medical conference, Nina was informed her only family, her precious sister, Rena had been one of the ‘gods’. A pivotal moment in Nina’s life, which only only caused her to seriously question her parents' atharim’s traditions but also led to many friendships including that of Jacinda Cross in future.

In her 4th year as a medical student, Nina embarked on her great project, a thesis on the Guardian that began as a way to try and determine her field but instead became a critique upon the hospital complex as a whole from its traditions to its practices and culture and all the things that needed to change. Earning her some attention, it wasn’t long after that Nina was allowed to take her final test and doctor’s oaths.

Throughout her residency, Nina had not revealed her intentions to anyone but it wasn't a surprise for many when she chose the surgery for her own career, even as she declared her interests and friendships in other fields. Not long after that, she left the hospital, volunteering for doctors without borders; since that time to the current day she had been embroiled in a number of atharim events even as she attempted to lead by example. To show her little sister Rena she loved her despite her nature and that she would do her best not only for her sister, but for all the people in this world who need her help.

After having completed her training, Nina was rumored to have gone many places. Hearsay placed her in America at the oil mines of Texas. Other doctors spoke of a surgeon traveling in secret with a band of natives in India, posing as a singer to earn her keep. But, as with many things in Nina’s present life, they were never confirmed. The possibilities, however, remain.

[[continued from Painted Dreams]]

The sky darkened to shades of molten gold when she finally dragged Nox into Moscow’s twilight. No real plan pulled her in a direction, content instead to sweep wherever whim took her. The city never really slept, even during the day, but its moods shifted with the sun, and freedom nosed in with the dark. Already neon washed the streets (at least these streets), and soft music pulsed a promise. Thalia hummed along tuneless. Like a dandelion amongst roses she did not necessarily suit these surroundings, though neither did she appear to notice it.

“Ooh, I love this song!” She tugged his hand with the change of current. It was still too early for security to stand sentinel at the entrance, a cavernous tunnel into the building’s interior. Sound echoed strangely, like a veil between worlds. Thalia grinned, arching her neck to watch the odd smear of lights, like sunlight on water, until they spilled into the club within.

We were two patches behind so I updated them this afternoon and it broke things.

The them is off so you might need to clear your cache to get it to work right.

and as I look at the page I see crap I had once fixed so I'll work on what I can

Getting out of the estate with Nova had been difficult.  Nox imagined it would have been that hard to walk away from Aurora or even his father, but he had to do it.  Dorian was no better than the Atharim.  Using him for the the things he could bring to the table and not actually caring what happened to him.   They'd been happy when his gift saved the world, as long as they didn't know how he'd survived things sometimes.  But Nox didn't really care.  Fuck them!  Fuck all of them.

He could still hunt monsters.  But Nox wasn't going to step foot into the tunnels until he figured out what was going on with the phantom memories, and reliving the pain from the ijiraq every time he seized the power to wield.  Nox had lain awake on the bed in the hostel he'd found after he'd stopped walking thinking about his next move.  Nova was welcome and that was a big thing for him.  The dog had curled up at the foot of his bed until Nox had invited him to lay next to him.  It was warm and comforting.

Nox had flipped through his texts and always landed back on the image Jay had sent him.  It reminded him that his life might not be great, but he had friends.  Selfies had never been his thing but life was shit.  Nox snapped a picture curled up around Nova whose head was resting on his chest sleeping.

Along with the picture Nox sent Jay a text.  EVEN WHEN HELL RISES UP I STILL HAVE A CUTE BED MATE.  NOT NEARLY AS FUN THO. [[ @"Jay Carpenter" ]]

Morning had come but not without the nightmares. Nox was grateful he was meeting Thalia for coffee (and cake - maybe). The coffee in the hostel was crap. But at least it was hot and caffeine filled. His first stop had been a park where Nova could run around and he could get a short workout in. He had a few gawkers pass by several times before he had finished. An alarm rang on his wallet and Nox called, "Nova, come on let's go." The dog trotted over and Nox clipped the leash on before he headed to the Old Arabat. He didn't like being that close to the Kremlin.

But that was such a price to pay for coffee and food. That was another thing he'd noticed when he checked his balance - there was more money than he'd expected. And when he asked Sage about it in a text the hacker just smiled. Nox didn't like that Sage was giving him money. But there was a long explanation in a new file in an email that Sage explained where the money came from. And it was a long convoluted story and Nox was not 100% that Sage hadn't made it up. But that was for later.

Thankfully the Artskaf had outdoor seating and it wasn't overly cold out anymore. Moscow had warmed up nicely. Nox sat down and waited for her to show up, he ordered a coffee while he waited, Nova sat on the sidewalk side of the chair and watched the people. The pup stood guard. Nox wasn't exactly sure where he'd learned the behavior, but as long as he didn't bite anyone he was welcome to sit there and act menacing. People walked wide and that was a good thing at the moment.

[[ @"Thalia" ]]

Ivan slapped the alarm blaring in his ear. Well, not blaring. It started all nice and soft. How a gentle wake up song became some super annoying obnoxious ear worm he didn't know.

He dragged his ass into the shower. The shampoo, some tea treatment, was refreshing- and stung his eyes something fierce at the same time. So, you know, that woke him up.

He dressed in sweats and a tshirt and pondered the day. Days, really. Had next four off. Somehow. He wasn't gonna ask. He already knew. He needed to train. Nox had given him the basics. Now it was time.

Still....he felt an ache. He called Ma and Pops. Was glad they were ok. And the little ones. He checked on his brother and sister too and their families. And shot Sara a message so she knew he remembered....and had been serious.

Bah. The hole was still there. And it was still early. But he was afraid.

Terrified really. Still...he messaged.

"Can I come by this morning?

He put the wallet down and did some chores. Every ding made him check his phone anxiously.

@"Danya Khorasani"

The helicopter swept into the airfield without hesitation. Evelyn climbed from the cabin and was met by a thousand eyes watching her every step. Not literally, of course, but she felt them none the less. Swift cadence carried her from helipad to terminal to jet bridge without a single interruption. It was as if the outline of the Ascendancy walked at her side. Security waved her around gates. Nobody scanned her for weapons or searched for illicit materials smuggled in her briefcase. An armed policeman with the armband of the Central Dominance wrapped tight stared at her so intensely, Evelyn wanted to shiver. Then he put a hand to his ear and turned his attention elsewhere like some gesture of deference.

Somehow, everyone knew who she was. 
Ascendancy’s ring laid heavy beneath her blouse.

The Secretary of State greeted her just as coldly. The other members of their retinue brushed her aside. It grated, but Evelyn flashed smiles in return. They thought she was some kind of traitor, but their judgement was ill-placed. She vowed to serve the people of her state when she took the oath of office. Who did they serve but their own interests? None of them were as selfless and altruistic, but she could forgive their ignorance. They didn't know any better.

She and Nikolai spoke long and with great detail as to the best progress forward. His awareness of her own party politics was astounding, but not surprising. He was a genius of strategy, his advice wise yet final decisions were left to her intuition in the coming months.  

She knew exactly what to do first.

Ilesha  had enjoyed talking with Liv and hopefully she'd be moving to Moscow and hopefully she could see a little more of her, she seemed like a good person and the first person other than Oriena and Claire she'd met and she was normal.

She was up early, her nerves were a mess.  Her stomach felt like it was all tied up and even the thought of food made her anxious.  This wasn't like a normal interview, no - this was with the most powerful government in the world and they wanted to talk about things that were only theory.  And a theory she didn't know well enough.

Dressed in a navy blue business dress suit and a white blouse, Ilesha showed up outside the Kremlin and remembered looking up on the spectacle of the arches made.  The sheer power it had taken to make.  And now she was going inside to meet with people who knew and spoke to the man himself.  She wasn't big into the whole political thing, but even the thought of seeing him struck a cord withe Ilesha.  She wondered if she would feel any power radiating off of him.  Surely a man so powerful had to emanate it.

It was nerve wracking walking into the Kremlin with her leather portfolio and her paper, and a few other things she'd picked up along the way that she hadn't shared in the paper.  They weren't much but proof was so much easier to show than to talk about.  Those little broken o-rings in her pocked would be a perfect demonstration.

It was a huge place, Ilesha stood inside wondering which way to go.